People say that morality is subjective and seldom black and white. Some rationalize the greater good as being the justification for some actions. But what if the greater good is based on a lie? Meet Kyle Williams. A 23 year old man ready to go into combat. His duty however will take him into The Size Zone...

July 19, 1936

"It's no problem Robert. They need you just for an hour to check out the new equipment for the physics lab at Caltech. They failed to think about the damn monsoon of a rainstorm I'd have to drive in. Shit I can barely see!" the man said trying to make out the rain soaked road. The road turned sharply and he over corrected. The car skidded and with a crash struck a tree. Paramedics were on the scene 15 minutes later. "Jesus. Look at this guy" a paramedic said. "Damn...at least he went quick" another said. "I'd fucking say so. Goddamn shifter stuck in his fucking ribcage. Look for some ID. At least we can tell his next of kin what happened" the paramedic said. His friend reached into the pocket of the dead man and pulled out his wallet. "Says he's Robert Oppenheimer. A professor over at Berkeley" his friend said. "Not anymore. Man deader than Julius Caesar" the paramedic said. "Let's get the poor bastard out of there. Fucking rain. No one has any business driving in this" the man said shaking his head.   

May 6, 1957

The sound of the chopper was making me sleepy. It didn't help that I hadn't had a good wink of sleep in 40 hrs. As soon as I got my orders I was on a transport for Asia. Touched down in Tokyo and was back in the air for my next stop in Thailand. And now I'm nearing my new base in northern China. I saw the base come into view. Damn it was big! Of course it would be big Kyle. Think about what you will be piloting. As soon as I hopped off I saw a familiar face. "Greg!" I yelled. "Kyle you magnificent bastard! What took you so long?!" he yelled. "They had to do a final prep on me to make sure there were no compatibility issues" I replied. "You'd think after those 3 years at pilot school they'd find this day now" he said. "You know them. By the book till the end" I said. "Heard that. Well, what do you think? Our own little home away from home. We call it Titan's Cradle” he said.

"Funny" I said chuckling. "Ehh...you find you jollies where you can out here. Come I'll show you to your quarters and we can grab a drink" he said. My quarters were bigger than the average soldier. Being a pilot got you advantages others didn't. That and the pay bump was why I became one. As we drank rationed booze, we talked about the old days. "So was your family able to make it to your pinning ceremony?" he asked. "My older sister did but mom was too sick to come. The doctors said she was having one of her bad days" I said. "Fuck man. Hate to hear that. You mom was always cool with me. You ever think she'll be okay?" he asked. "Been asking that since I was 4 man. Mom took dad's death in Japan hard. God, remember how many kids we grew up with lost their dads in the invasion of Japan? Those were two fucked up years man" I said. "I hear ya. I always wondered what would have happened if Japan had surrender and that bloodbath of an invasion never took place" he said drinking.

"You and me both. So how are things up here? News, real news, is hard to come by back home" I asked. Greg shook his head. "Where do I begin? As anyone who went to school knows, the Soviet Union got enough balls to make a play for all of Germany in 48'. After that they tried to sweep Europe but we stopped them cold. After fighting the japs and the Krauts for so long we weren't strong enough to push them back. Good thing was neither were they. Hitler had fucked them up pretty bad. 4 years ago, they made a play for China. China asked for assistance and we were able to keep them from spreading to Korea...barely. So lately we've been pushing them back to their borders but now we got a problem" he said.

"What kind of problem?" I asked. "Okay...you might have heard about the battle of Gobi but this is what wasn't told. We lost Unit Alpha and the pilot. Our troops engaged theirs as well as our tanks. They'd send in MIG's and we send in Sabers or Crusaders. We had them on the ropes man until they brought in those big bombers of theirs. Our air forces were stretched too thin so they sent in Unit Alpha. They did what they could. You should have seen them! Swatting those fuckers out of the air when they dropped altitude or blown away by their guns. But it was too much even for them. They must have sent their whole bomber fleet for this area Kyle. I stopped counting them after 40. The pilot was amazing. He had done enough damage to make them turn back. "As a final fuck you from their bombers, they dropped their payloads right on top of them. All that bomb damage had done its toll. When the smoke cleared, Unit Alpha was a bloody mess and the cockpit was fuckin' toast. We...we buried what was left of the pilot the next day and "dismantled" Unit Alpha for disposal. We lost a lot of strength when he lost them. Which explains why you're here" he said.

"Yeah, they assigned me to Unit Bravo. I've yet to see her though" I said. "Pretty sure they’ll get to that tomorrow. They want us back to full strength soon. Word is the Reds got some offensive planned" Greg said. "What do you do here Greg?" I asked. "Matainence staff. You know what they say. If you can't pilot them then you fix them" he said chuckling. "Christ. You were only 5% off. If they just gave you more time..." I said until he shook his head. "You know that wouldn't have worked. You got to have the right brainwaves to be a pilot. 5 % might have well been 500%. Tell me. What was you compatibility percentage when you graduated. "...97%" I muttered. "You fucking kidding me?! Holy fuck man! You were born to pilot those things!" he yelled. It was true. My score was freakishly high.

I politely excused myself an hour later to get some shuteye. I fell asleep wondering what Unit Bravo looked like. The rumor was just one look and you would be in awe. I reported for duty at 0700 the next morning. I rode in a jeep to the hangar bay where Unit Bravo was kept. I was greeting by General Raines, the man who ran Titan's Cradle. "1st. Lt. Williams reporting for duty" I said saluting. "At ease Lt. Welcome to my home. Tell me. What do you know about the Units?" he asked. "Well, we learned in the academy that they are genetically engineered from the ground up. Armored skin and can have the top speed of 300 mph depending on load out and physical shape. The pilot is linked mentally to control it and their size varies" I said. "Very good but there are a few things you left out. First of all they bleed. They get hurt they bleed so don't lose you shit if that happens. Second of all they are a pain in the ass to replace so be careful out there. And third, well...you see for yourself" he said leading me to the entrance.

I walked inside and was immediately blown away by what I saw. She was beautiful and fuck she was big! I'd seen pictures of a Unit but they didn't do them justice. Unit Bravo looked like a 17 year old girl. Her hair was white like fallen snow and she had metal plates on her body. What skin I could see was like peach except for strange glistening flakes in it. They shimmered in the light like diamonds just under her skin. Her eyes were like turquoise. Never had I seen such blue eyes before. Jesus! They blinked! Her nails shone like glass. In the center of her chest was a plate and an extension of metal. I knew from training that's where the cockpit was.  I couldn't help but stare at her covered breasts. Each one was the size of a small room. I glanced all the way up. Judging from her size, she was every bit of 160 ft. tall. I glanced down. Her feet were massive and bare. They're seemed to be locked in some kind of harness.

"Impressive isn't she?" a man said running up to us. "Williams, meet corporal Matthews. He's in charge of weapon packs and maintenance" the General said. "Nice to meet our new pilot" Matthews said. I said likewise and shook his hand. "Status on Unit Bravo" the General said. "Still checking her bio systems. She seemed to have no issues coming out of embryonic suspension. Version 3 should be operable soon" he said. "Version 3?" I asked. "Ah yes that. This Unit is the third model of the Bravo series" he said. "And the other two?" I asked. "Version 1 was lost in a system failure in 51'. Version 2 was lost in the Battle of Beijing in 55'. They shipped Unit Alpha from Western Europe shortly after" Matthews said. "So there were two others like her?" I asked. "Exactly like her. You do realize we clone them? It took years to work out the genetic blueprint for them. Starting from scratch takes time we don't have to fight the Ruskies" Matthews said.

"How soon can we do a field test?" the General asked. "I have to go over her neural links and second check pack mounts and then see how her digestive system handles the nutrient mush. Give me two days. We can see how they perform then “he said.  The general nodded. He led me to the command room. "For the next week, we will have you test out Unit Bravo. You get real hands on piloting experience and it will work out any kinks in her system" he said. I noticed he referred to her as an it. "Roger that sir" I said. I was excused after getting my orders. I had been told once that it took a certain type of person to pilot a Unit. It wasn't just the right compatibility. You had to have a certain mindset also. Keep in mind that a Unit is classified as a Woman of Mass Destruction or W.M.D. That's a lot of power to control and also as I saw a detached feeling is needed to put something...no...someone into harm’s way.

"Something else isn't it?" Greg said slapping my back as I ate in the canteen. "She's spectacular alright" I said. "Don't go getting attached to it. That's a weapon man" he said seeing my faraway smile. "She looks like she could be more" I said. "Oh come now Kyle. I was at the academy long enough to know you got the same breakdown on what they are. They only look human. They are mankind's first bioweapon. They got s heart but no soul. They got a brain but nobody's home. Why do you think people can pilot them? Because they got no minded their own" he said. "And what about those protesters?" I asked. "You mean those religious fucks that came out saying we were creating monsters or playing God? Or those other folks who said we made slaves or claim that they have souls? Fuck them! They get to say that shit because of the first amendment. An American right that the military pays for. Yeah they were acting crazy as fuck when Unit Alpha was first seen by the public being deployed but when they saw how many lives it saved they shut the fuck up. What you saw today was a machine. A flesh and blood one but a machine nonetheless" he said sternly.

Later that night, I returned to the hangar. His words still in my mind. I looked at her. Her eyes blinked but they just looked forward. I saw no real consciousness in them. Maybe he was right. I walked close to her. My hand brushed her big toe. Her toenail glistened like pristine glass. My hand traced it and felt the space between her big and second toe. I felt moisture. I was surprised. I didn't know they could sweat! A slight movement came from her toes. Was I tickling her? "Didn't peg you for a foot man Lt." Matthews said coming up from behind me. "Scared the shit out of me! Wait...it's not what you think" I stammered. "Relax I was just fucking with ya. We all have touched her now and then just to drink in the scope of what we created" he said. "She moved! Isn't she on lockdown?! I thought all their movements are suspended" I said. "She is and they are. They have nerves just like we do. By the way they feel pain too. Keep that in mind when you're linked. But to answer your question, what you saw was an autonomic response. Like a knee jerk. Her body was feeling a tickle but there's no mind to process that. No need to freak out" he said.

"Easy for you to say. What if she clenched her toes?" I asked. "Then you would have lost a hand. Be more careful in the future" he said chuckling and walking away. As I began to walk out of the hangar, I looked once more at her. Did I want her to have a mind? Was I wishing for her to more than just a weapon? That question bugged me as I tossed and turned in my bunk.

I reported to the hangar at 0700 for my first day of live training. As I stepped into the hangar I was met with a sickening sight. They were "refueling" Unit Bravo. I knew she was organic and anything living has to eat right. I was naive to think she was what...spoonfed or something? Well I saw how they did it and they didn't just feed her like a baby. A tank the size of a fuel truck was sitting on the ground and a long hose ran from it to Unit Bravo's mouth. The hose was clear to make sure there weren’t any clogs but what ran through it...it was a brown sludge. I heard back at the academy they used a nutrient rich compound as fuel but it sickened me. She just stared ahead while this mush was pumped into her stomach. "Ready for your first run?" Greg asked behind me. "Jesus man don't sneak up behind me!" I said.

"Sorry man. Looks like it will be ready to go within minutes" he said looking at her. "I figured Matthews was going to be working on her" I said. "It's my shift today. I already looked over what you'll be doing today. Navigation maneuvers and basic target practice. Simple shit really" he said. "Okay, show me to the walkway" I said. He led me to an elevator which took me up to the main gangplank. I was chest high with her. I looked down and remembered how tall she really was. Her face was closer to me now and she was very pretty without that fucking tube going down her throat. Not one battle blemish on her. This was it. This is what I was trained to do. A simple push on the cockpit hatch on her chest plate opened it. I climbed in and sat down. I was surprised how warm it was.

During training, the simulator was always cold. It must have been her body heat. The actual cockpit was partially embedded into her body. It was necessary to integrate her nervous system to the pilot. And that led me to the next part. You see, there is no camera or control stick for this kind of war machine. In order to move or even see you have to put the helmet on. This was the part that amazed me no matter how many times I did it in the academy. I put on the helmet a pressed the switch on the side. What I can only describe as a nasty case of brain freeze slammed into my brain. When it faded I opened my eyes. I saw everything she did. My god, everything looks so small...

"Status?" the General asked a technician. "Astounding, his compatibility ratio is at 92% and holding steady! Unprecedented for a first time connection!" he yelled. "Lt., how is it in there?" the General asked. "Odd. I feel everything Unit Bravo does. I feel the floor under my feet and the air ventilating the room on its skin. I think I’m ready for a test drive" I said. "Give him a strike pack and send him out" the General ordered. A huge metal arm shoved something onto my right arm. Ow! I felt a pinch and then again in my left arm. I looked at them. On my right arm were 6 long barrel .50 caliber browning machine guns. Similar to what the Crusader carried. On my left was a shield. It was slightly angled to deflect enemy fire. "Now just like in training Kyle, if you want to do something you need to think about doing it. I'm releasing the docking clamps around your feet" he said.

With two heavy thunks I was free. The giant door opened and I took my first steps as a true pilot. The Tarmac was warm under my feet or should I say hers. I glanced up and even piloting a giant weapon the sky still seemed so far away. "Make you way outside the base and you will see the training area up ahead" Greg said over the radio. My first steps were clumsy with that weight on my arms but it got easier and smoother as each step I took. It was different than the simulators. I felt the rhythm of a heartbeat not my own. The faster a moved the faster it beat. "She really is alive" I muttered to myself. In no time at all I was at the training grounds. "Alright Kyle, the first thing up is ground targets. You see those tanks to your left? I want you to take them out with your machine guns. Now all you have to do is aim carefully and flex your fist. The flexing is the trigger" he said.

I aimed my guns at the old Sherman tanks lined up neatly. I flexed my fist and my guns rattled. Fuck the recoil threw my aim off!" "3 out of 8. Not terrible but needs improvement. Not like those simulations is it? The trick is locking your legs in place and bracing your shoulder. Now try again" he said. My feet dug into the warm dirt and my shoulder tensed. I aimed again and fired. This time I was dead on. The recoil pulled my arm but I was prepared. I pulled downward slightly and raked the old tanks. They were built to take on the panzers but not me. I Swiss cheesed them within seconds. "That's my Kyle! Now see those mannequins on the far left. Fuck them up" he said. A simple burst destroyed them.  "No bad but here's where it get harder. Precede one klick northeast of your position" he said.

I walked to where he indicated and I saw more tanks. Was it my imagination or did they just move? *boom*. Ahh!  The fucking thing shot me! The shell hit my shoulder and made me instinctively grab it. It felt like someone hit me with a rock. "Greg something's wrong! These targets are shooting at me with real shells!" I yelled. "Nothing's wrong. This is part of the test. Those tanks are remote controlled and as you saw armed. Take them all out and use any tactic you need to" he said. I looked at my shoulder and it wasn't bleeding but it was bruised. That pretty skin was actually bruised. I got kinda pissed. I aimed at that tank and destroyed it with a quick burst. Three more shots hit me. One hit my chest plate and damn near shook me apart. Another hit my leg but fortunately that was covered in armor. One hit my back. I could actually feel pain. I started taking them with gunfire until they ran dry. "I'm out of rounds!" I yelled over the radio.

"You think Mr. Commie will care about that in battle?! Think Kyle. You control a 160 ft. humanoid weapon. What else can you do other than shoot?" he mockingly said. I felt stupid. I had totally forgotten that not only did I have a shield to protect me but she was extremely physically powerful and heavy. I raised that shield so it protected the cockpit and charged the 4 remaining tanks. Their shells pinged loudly off the steel armor as I closed the gap. I got to the first one and grabbed it. It was surprisingly light. I flung it right into another tank like it was a football. Both tanks exploded perfectly. The third tank moved to my rear and fired. "Motherfucker you shot me in the ass!" I yelled. I kicked the tank so hard it rolled over. I was so pissed I didn't feel the pain in my big toe. I slammed my foot on the underbelly of it and slowly crushed it until the treads stopped moving. Then I looked at the last one. It fired a shell and I easily deflected it. I bent down and with my right hand bent the barrel like it was made of slinky wire.

"What's next?" I said panting. I was out of breath even though my body hadn't really moved. I was feeling the lower stamina on Unit Bravo. "Uh nothing man. Come back to the barn" he said. I got out of her and took the elevator down. Everyone was looking at me strange. "What?" I asked. "They're amazed at how you performed. Your compatibility was crazy and nobody ever beat the Sherman line on the first day. Usually they just withdraw when they get hit and feel real pain" he said. When I went to eat I got whispers of what I did. They aren't afraid of me but it was like seeing a sports hero or ace pilot from WWII. The next day I was given the same training. I suspected they wanted to see if yesterday was a fluke. If anything I cleared my targets faster. On the third day I decided to really impress them.

The training exercise was more or less the same but with a howitzer on the ridge. The idea was to fuck up my speed. Guess they forgot or didn't know I was all American back home. I picked up a tank and threw a Hail Mary. Wiped that howitzer right out. You what I did next? What do all football players do when they make a touchdown? Yeah I picked up the last tank and spiked that motherfucker. Well...they decided I had passed the first part of my training. I and my Unit were given rest for the weekend. Greg bragged to all his buddies how I was going to singlehandedly beat the Reds back to Moscow. I tried to rest really but I kept feeling myself drawn back to her. That power, that awesome destructive power beckoned me. For three hours Saturday I just sat connected in the cockpit drinking it all in. As I sat there I imagined I heard a faint whisper. It was a girl's voice. One I didn't recognize. "...Kyle" it said.

I awoke. "Dreaming..." I said. I had actually fallen asleep connected to her. As I ate breakfast the next morning I wondered if it was really a dream. "Morning man! You ready for another round of tests?" he asked. "Has anyone ever fallen asleep connected to a Unit?" I asked. He was taken off guard by my random question. "Uh...I don't think so. At least the pilot of Unit Alpha never did? What did you?" he asked. "Yeah as I was...checking a connection...I dozed off. Had a weird dream. A girl was calling my name" I said. Greg raised an eyebrow. "Was she pretty?" he asked. "Never saw her face" I said. "Wait you don't think... Come on man we've been through this. Nobody's home upstairs. I think you need to be laid" he said. "Your answer for everything" I said chuckling. "Fuckin' A it is" he said hitting my shoulder. I winced. "Whoa did I hurt ya?" he asked. "No just phantom pain from the connection when that tank shot me" I said.  Greg looked to the side. “I'm not supposed to say anything but your compatibility was 95% last time. It's got those techs spooked man. They never heard of such a thing. I think they're worried if it hit 100%" he said. "What could happen?" I joked. "No one knows man and that's what's spooking them. You're forgetting you're piloting a weapon that can wipe out whole divisions like it’s nothing! Look how you took out those targets Friday. That half of a division! Jesus Kyle that football stunt left the General drooling and the techs scared shitless. I wasn't kidding when I said wait till you see what they have planned" he said. Greg was really worried. Haven't seen him like this since he heard he might wash out of the academy.

So here I was on Monday wondering what I had to face. The first part of the tests was to take out 500 mannequins with shooting. That was easy enough. The next part was the tanks. Man they were many! 50 of them each one firing. I had gotten a lot better at movement even after giving me the assault pack. I still had my shield but on my right arm were two 75mm recoilless guns. The blowback from these things was tricky. If it wasn't for the Unit's naturally engineered reinforced joints and bones I'd throw out her shoulder just firing it. They were impressed how I moved so easily and recovered after firing, within two minutes they were scrap. "Get ready Kyle. Here comes something new" he said. I heard the telltale booms of howitzers in the distance. I braced myself for a hit. There wasn’t any but shells came down around me and released smoke. I was blind within seconds.

There was a weakness piloting a Unit. There was no radar. The trick was to rely in the enhanced senses it had. Eyes that could see for 10 miles and ears that could hear loud noises much further was what I had right now. The eyesight was screwed so I had to rely on listening. A small roar was coming from overhead. "Jets. They got jets incoming" I thought. "They aren't manned are they?" I asked. "Of course not. The latest remote control. The motherbird is safely away so get crackin'" he said. I and the Unit took a deep breath. My heartbeat was steady but the Unit wasn't. Was she scared? No, couldn't be. I aimed at the noise and fired a burst of .50 fire. My yellow tracers cut through the smoke. A tiny explosion was heard. Well I got something but that roar was coming damn close. Her heartbeat was coming faster. I thought really hard. "Easy, calm down" I thought. The heartbeat slowed. Oh my god...I think there's a mind in there!

All of a sudden I heard whistling. I immediately ran backward. The bombs hit the ground like rocks. They exploded paint. Thank god they weren't crazy enough to use live ones. I fired into the air and got another one. I fell back more and finally cleared the smoke.  6 Sabers with rocket loads were flying in formation along with 2 B-17's. They weren't kidding when they do these drills. I fired at them with my guns. I corrected my aim using the tracers. I concentrated on the bombers. They were the real threat. I had forgotten how sturdy they were. It took over 600 rounds to take just one out. By the time I took the second my mag ran empty. Those F-86's broke altitude to attack me. The lead fired its rockets first. I used my shield to block the hits. My shield dripped red paint. I ran to my right to buy time. I reached down to my right leg and pulled the special mag out of the ammo crate strapped to it. "Lock and load" I said pulling back the multichamber for my .50's.

It was just in time too. The rest of the flight opened on me. I ran toward it. Now most people would back up but that's where they fuck up. The enemy can take that into account and adjust their aim but not if you come toward them. Their attack angle is already locked. I could feel the wind on my face and felt my heart pound. Every connected sense I felt. I began to fire at the squadron and destroyed all but two. They looped around to fire again but I didn't let them. I was so attuned to Unit Bravo that I thought nothing as I dove to the ground and rolled. As I came up the planes flew overhead overshooting me. They were sitting ducks. I took them out of my sky.

I got a standing ovation from the control room. I was still linked and could hear shouting of praise and astonishment but there were two voices saying something different. "Something's wrong. His compatibility rate jumped to 97%! That's unprecedented!" one said. Did you get a look at the telemetry?! The pilot was fine but Unit Bravo's adrenaline level was through the roof! How can that be?!" another said. I saw. Its brainwave frequency spiked too. Wait can he hear us?" one asked. "Who knows if he can or not?! No telling how linked they are!" the other said. Hmm...they stopped talking. Wonder what that was about. They act like I'm a ticking time bomb. I feel fine. Better than fine really.

"Incredible work out there! How would like to do some patrols? Get used to being in the field with our troops?" the General asked. "Sounds fine sir" I replied. And just like that I was assigned to the 12th combat division or as they like to be called the "Roaring Tigers". The first few days the troops were feeling me out. They told me the previous pilot was an arrogant bastard. He acted like he was the resident badass. I can relate. I felt invincible when I piloted Bravo. They were relieved to hear me talk like them. Joke like them. Miss home like them. I caught a few staring at me...at Bravo. "Something I can do for you Private?" I asked the teen near my feet. "N-nothing sir" he stammered. Our patrol took us near a pass lined with steep mountains. They were worried the Reds would make a play for it. "Halt men! We stay here till 7" the Sgt. said. I sat down and Bravo's ass shook the ground. I forget that she's all kinds of heavy.

"How are you doing in there sir?" a soldier asked. I glanced down. It was the same Private from just a while ago. God he looked so small. To my linked eyes, he was smaller than my G.I Joe back when I was a kid. In the back of my mind was a voice telling me to pick him up. I was flexing my fingers instinctively. "I saw you staring at her" I said. The teen looked away quickly in embarrassment. "Don't sweat it kid. She is pretty after all. I stared too. Still do in fact" I said. The teen relaxed. "Can you see as far as they say?" he asked. "Wanna see for yourself?" I asked reaching down. I picked the teen up and sat him on my shoulder. He gripped Bravo's hair for balance. Strange...Bravo's heartbeat went up. "Wow. Can see pretty far now but not a far as you right?" he said. "Yeah, you'd be surprised how good you can see when you got pupils bigger than trash can lids" I said. Just as I was saying that, I picked up movement out of the corner of my eye.

I turned to see what it was and a puff of smoke came from a ridge sloping down. A tight whistle and bam! My shoulder turned from the hit. It was a tank shell. A good one too. "Motherfuckers...guys we need to mobilize. Private you need to..." I muttered. I realized at that moment that the Private who had been talking to me had been sitting on the shoulder I had been hit. I glanced at it. "Oh Jesus..." I said seeing the smeared red stain that marked where he had been. Rage took over but I felt her heartbeat spike. A tremor shook my cockpit. She's feeling my anger? Wait...that's not it. She's feeling her anger!" I said. I readied my .50 guns. "Stay here sir. This is what she was made for" I told the Sgt.

Before he could object, I had cleared a half klick. "You commie fucks!" I thought.  As I got closer I saw it was a small regiment. Most likely a scouting party of their own to assess our strength. Well they were going to find out. I damn near laughed at what they had. 30 troops at best with two T-34 tanks and one self-propelled gun. Had to go up against worse in training. The tanks fired at me as I approached. I dodged left and held up my shield. One round hit the shield. Man that frightened them hearing that ping but seeing them scatter as I wasted the tanks with anti-armor fire was better. One brave soldier tried shooting me with the self-propelled. Too bad I was too fast for him to adjust the firing angle. A two second burst to him into borscht. Now for those troops. They didn't need to report that Bravo was up and functioning. Assuming they hadn't done so already. I fired ahead of them. I did it for two reasons. One my angle was shitty even at 160 ft. tall. And two, I wanted to stop their retreat. It worked.

My rounds carved out the ground in front of them. They turned to me and began firing small rounds. I didn't even need to block that. Hell, I'd be surprised if a round could hurt my eye let alone draw blood. What bullets did hit my skin tickled. They were fucked and they knew it. "Crush" a faint voice said. I looked at them so small and helpless. I raised my dirty sole over a group and slammed it down hard. I could hear screams in Russian silenced in an instant under my foot. I could feel their warm blood under it. Their innards oozed between my toes. I began stomping them left and right. In no time at all I had killed all but one. A lone soldier, 19 maybe 20, had got lucky avoiding my footfalls. That voice was getting stronger. Her pulse was quickening. "Eat" it said. My stomach growled loudly. Enough to wince from the sound. Oh God...Bravo is low on fuel and she wants more. I found myself picking up the soldier. He was screaming his head off. I held him close to my face and grinned. He held something and then he threw it. I felt something attach to the side of my head

"Fuck you American!" he yelled. An explosion went off and I yelled in pain. It was the first time I heard her voice. A girl's scream could be heard in the air. Bravo's scream. I hadn't felt pain like that since I was hit in the head with a fastball. Put me in the hospital for a week. The sneaky fuckin' Russian used an anti-tank charge. Even through my pain I was still focused. He was laughing at me. I jammed his body into my mouth. He filled it up nicely. I began to chew. His uniform made it difficult but it wasn't going to stop me. His laughs turned to screams and then shrieks. I could taste his metallic salty blood in my mouth. Then his screams stopped. I swallowed what was left and felt something in my teeth. I was able to spit it out. It was his helmet. I felt like a fucking king. I had wiped out a whole regiment and only lost one man in doing so. As I walked back I felt blood running down my face. The bastard actually did some damage.

"Enemy destroyed sir. Requesting RTB" I wearily said. He just nodded in astonishment. I thought about what I had done. I had not just crushed them I actually ate one...like some B movie monster. To add to my worry, it wasn't my voice that suggested it. Now that I heard her voice I knew it was the same one in my mind. Bravo wasn't just alive. She was intelligent. I was put on psych detail for the next two days. They told me of irregularities in the connection. I think they thought I might get a god complex or something. On the third day I was released and none wanted to speak to me. They heard how brutal I was. Fucking hypocrites. I save lives and they complain on how I kill the enemy. Think those parents of that poor Private that was dusted on my shoulder gives a fuck how I killed them? Matthews and Greg came to see me in my quarters.

"Up for company?" Matthews asked. "You haven't heard? I might go crazy and eat you" I said. "Kyle we don't bake you for killing them. It's just how you did it. When you use it to eat people they get kinda spooked. There are rules in war" Greg said. "Rules? You come to me about fucking rules? Tell the Private's family about rules. Like how civilized people don't use a tank shell to kill a single soldier? God in heaven Greg. Have you forgotten what those Reds did to Berlin in 45'? Fucking Christ Greg! They buried an empty casket in Arlington today!" They weren't aiming at him Kyle. They were aiming at you! You caused that kid to die!" Greg yelled. "You’re right. You're absolutely right and I killed those fucks. They won't be harming anyone again" I said.

"Well that stunt you pulled got some attention and not all American. The soviets are bringing in troops as we speak. A fuckton of them. One transport is big enough to carry 500 alone. So thank you Kyle. You just instigated a battle we're not ready for" Greg said. "Fuck you talking about?" I asked. "It's true Kyle. My buddy decoded the transmission from a base in Alaska. A U-2 spotted troop movement near the border. They estimate they will be here in 3 days" he said. I sighed and shook my head.  I was so wrapped up in my wounded ego I forgot that I was part of a whole army. They left me alone in my room. I thought about Bravo.

It was in the middle of the night as I snuck into the hanger. I had to know if she was intelligent. I had to know if I was going into combat again. I saw a light in the control room. I carefully approached it and saw no one was inside. It was strange. There were x-rays of a skull. On the header was Unit Bravo. I found myself reading notes on the desks. "Unit Bravo cranial damage. Neural implant compromised. Scans indicate shrapnel around implant housing. May effect overall suppression" it said.

Suppression? What did that mean? I found another note. "Irregular brainwaves detected during skirmish. Bravo brainwaves significantly higher than allowed threshold. May have to scuttle Bravo to prevent another catastrophic failure like in Nevada. Pilot shows abnormal compatible link rates. Neurological imbalance my occur" it said. I wondered what they meant by catastrophic failure. Matthews mentioned it before. I wanted answers. It wouldn't look good to ask them directly. They were nervous about me enough already. I looked at Bravo. Part of her scalp showed signs of abrasions. They did heal quickly but it was obvious someone was poking around up there. I took a deep breath. I gambled on one way to get answers.

I climbed into the cockpit. Last time I fell asleep I heard her voice. If I'd do it again maybe I could...talk to her. Eventually I fell asleep. "Hello?" I asked surrounded by darkness. I heard footsteps. The sound of bare feet slapping a floor was coming toward me. A faint light shone above me. Then she appeared. Bravo appeared.  I was expecting her to be huge but she wasn't. If anything she was a few inches shorter than me. "Kyle? Kyle!" she yelled. She kept yelling my name over and over as she hugged me tightly. "You're real? Oh thank god! Thought I was going nuts!" I said. I looked into those happy eyes. She was very much intelligent and felt emotions like anyone else. "Bravo you really know me. You understand everything?" I asked. She nodded. "Bravo I..." I was saying until she shook her head like a child who hated something.

"Bravo?" I asked. She did it again. "Wait...you don't like that name?" I asked. She pointed at me as if to confirm my guess. "You want another?" I asked. She nodded. I thought about what to name her. I looked at those eyes that were like turquoise and then her hair. "What about snow?" I asked. She closed her eyes and I felt her presence in my mind. She was using the link to look into my mind! "Snow!" she said happily. Guess she needed to learn what snow was. She was learning to speak through our link. That explained how she knew words like crush or eat. It was instinct to act this way. The link worked both ways. When I mentioned that day I felt sadness from her. Especially that Private. "C..cute. Die...sad" she said. That explained why she was so eager to kill them. She wanted revenge. She saw into my mind how people were treating me. She looked at me with pity and began crying.

"It's not your fault! It's not" I said hugging her. A warmth crept over me. Her eyes looked into mine. I kissed her. She was surprised to be kissed but she returned it very eagerly. The warmth I felt was love. Not just mine but hers. She actually loves me! I broke off the kiss. Her hand gripped mine and she pulled it to her naked breast. She moaned slightly. Snow wanted more from me. I sat her down along with me. She looked into my eyes as if to expect something more. I bent down and sucked her right nipple. She gasped. Her hands stroked my hair. She laid back and my hands traveled down her chest to her pussy. It was soaking wet. Her body was instinctively getting ready.  "Snow...I" I said stammering. It felt like I was taking advantage of her. She was learning about being something other than a weapon and here I was about to fuck her. "Kyle...f...fuck...me" she said learning the words.

I looked into her eyes and pushed my cock into her. I felt a sharp pain as I did. We both winced. Jesus, I felt myself taking her virginity. I stopped for a second for both of us to recover. When she smiled again I slid into her. She groaned as I bottomed out. Slowly I began to fuck her. In a dream you lose sense of time. How long did we fuck I had no clue. All I know is I kept up a good pace until I found myself just ramming it into her. Her asscheeks slapped my crotch rhythmically as I fucked her. I grabbed her ankle and sucked her toes as I looked into her happy face. She was giggling. "I'm gonna cum Snow!" I shouted. I felt her mind in mine and then her legs locked around my torso. She wasn't going to let me pull out! I came inside her like no tomorrow. If this was real she would be pregnant for sure. We laid there for a second until she kissed me. It was the softest kiss I ever had. She whispered in my ear. "Love you. Wake up" she said.

I awoke. My watch said it was 0413. I had been asleep for 2 hours. "Gotta be kidding" I said looking at my crotch. It was wet. Yep, I had a wet dream. I began to wonder if it was all a dream until I saw something as I stepped onto the floor. The crotch plate covering her pussy leaked fluids around the edges. It was very real. "I can't take her into battle. She's intelligent. This is wrong! It's like slavery!" I shouted to myself. Shit went downhill two days later.